Bull's Eye Business Writing Tips:
Getting to Your Writing Target

Tip #106:  When do you use "due to"
or "because of"?

Write it right:  Some tips for more effective
letters and memos

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Tip #106:  When do you use "due to" or "because of"? I received this message:
    "Dan, can you and Gloria answer this?

    In what examples is it better to use "due to" than "because of"?  We usually use the latter more than the former, but I read an article in which it was suggested that "due to" equals "attributable to."  Well, isn't "because of" synonymous with "attributable to" as well?

    Perplexed in Massachusetts,
    Rick"

(The following answers can be found in the Gregg Reference Manual.)
    "Due to" introduces an adjective phrase and should modify nouns.  It is normally used only after some form of the verb "to be" (is, are, was, were, etc.)
    Example:  Her success is due to talent and hard work. (Due to modifies success.)


    "Because of" and "on account of" introduce adverbial phrases and should modify verbs.

    Example:  He resigned because of ill health. (Because of modifies resigned.)

Please correct the following word usage errors:
  1. Being that I arrived late, I could not get a seat.
  2. The territory is divided evenly among the two sales representatives.
  3. Both sisters complained about the other.

To send the above exercise answers to Gloria for her comments and review,  copy the questions,  paste  them into an email, answer them,  and send to Marsha@basic-learning.com.

 

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Here are some books on business writing that I recommend.

Bull's Eye Business Writing is also available from Amazon.com.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, author, Lynne Truss The Everything Resume Book by Steven Graber
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , by William Knowlton Zinsser  The Gregg Reference Manual, by William A. Sabin 
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, White, E. B. White  How to Take the Fog Out of Business Writing, by Robert Gunning, Richard A. Kallan (Contributor) 

More books on business writing and other business subjects  (available from Amazon.com). 

Contact Gloria Pincu at Basic Learning Systems, Inc.

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